Quality Street boxes contain fewer of our favourite chocolates, study finds

When it comes to Christmas selection boxes we can’t deny that we all have a favourite.

But with each December that goes by it seems like we have to fight even harder with the rest of the family for the Purple Ones and Green Triangles in the Quality Street tin.

And while we may have just been thinking that it’s because we don’t get there as quick as our eagle-eyed siblings, parents, partners and kids, turns out there’s actually a valid reason why we always seem to miss out on our favourites.

A study has found that Quality Street boxes do actually contain fewer of our favourite chocolates compared with the ones that aren’t so popular.

According to research by consumer group Which? who surveyed more than 1,000 of its members, the top Quality Street chocolate is the Purple One, closely followed by the Green Triangle.

However, while, based on their popularity, the ideal number of these chocolates per tub was found to be 11 Purple Ones and 10 Green Triangles, researchers found that an average 720g tin contained only SIX Green Triangles and FIVE Purple Ones.

And it gets worse. While Which? found that demand for the Strawberry Delight was only five per box, each tin actually contained 10 of the controversial chocolate.

‘Our analysis shows that it’s not your family’s fault that your favourite disappears so quickly,’ said Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine, ‘there really are too few Purple Ones to meet demand.’

The research also found that Wispas and Twirls topped the Cadbury’s Heroes charts, but also made the fewest appearances in a tin, with an average selection containing only nine and six respectively.

And the same goes for Roses, where the Hazelnut in Caramel was the most popular, but only showed in a standard assortment five times.

So it looks like even if you beat the rush to the coffee table you might still miss out.

Might be best to open the next tub in secret…